Evaluating the utility of protected area status and conservation legislation in tropical forest conservation using satellite data: a case study of the great hornbill in Thailand

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Naparat Suttidate

Abstract Preserving wildlife and their environment from anthropogenic activities requires identification and establishment of protected areas, and monitoring of their long-term effects on wildlife and habitat. Tropical forests are one of the most at-risk habitats and many tropical species have become extinct recently due to human activity. It is imperative to monitor habitat in protected areas and without in order to identify strategies and legislative policies that optimize conservation outcomes. To this end, I quantified habitat fragmentation for the great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) in Om Koi Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand, pre- and post-establishment, within and outside the protected area, from 1973, 1985, and 1992, to assess the effectiveness of the protected area status, established in 1978, and a national logging ban, established in 1989, in preserving and restoring hornbill habitat. The results demonstrate that the establishment of Om Koi Wildlife Sanctuary did not decrease the rate of hornbill habitat fragmentation relative to areas outside the protected area. While the protected area had less fragmentation to begin with, protection status did not affect the rate of loss. Fragmentation increased significantly both inside and outside the protected area between the first and second time points (p < 0.05), after the protected area was first established. However, the national logging ban policy implemented in 1985 seems to have successfully halted the fragmentation of habitat within the protected area and surrounding unprotected areas, with all areas showing no significant change (p > 0.05). While not significant, the rate of fragmentation outside the protected area was greater. This suggests that the establishment of a protected area alone may not be sufficient to stop or reverse anthropogenic damage to endangered habitat and the species that utilize these environments. The incorporation of multiple strategies for management is likely needed to increase the ability of protected areas to preserve tropical forest species and habitats. The assessment of protected areas via satellite and ground-level data is an essential tool for evaluating the effectiveness of conservation strategies and improving outcomes.

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (04) ◽  
pp. 846-854
Author(s):  
Alessandro Ribeiro Morais ◽  
◽  
Mariana Nascimento Siqueira ◽  
Roniel Freitas-Oliveira ◽  
Daniel Brito ◽  
...  

Protected areas are the most frequently used tool for the mitigation of threats to biodiversity. However, without effective management, the creation of new protected areas may be ineffective. In Brazil, protected areas must have both a governing body (consultative or deliberative council) and an official management plan. Here, we analyzed general trends and patterns in the approval of the management plans for Brazilian federal protected areas. We considered all federal protected areas, and compiled data on (i) the year the area was created, (ii) the type of protected area (integral protection vs. sustainable use), (iii) year its management plan was approved, (iv) year in which the management plan was revised after its approval, (v) total area (in hectares), and (vi) the biome in which the area is located. We stablished three groups of protected area: 1) Group A: protected areas created prior to 1979, 2) Group B: protected areas created between 1979 and 1999, and 3) Group C: protected areas created between 2000 to the present time. Finally, we tested whether time for the approval of the management plan suffered a simultaneous effect of the type of biome and type of categories of protected area (strictly protected vs. sustainable use areas). We found 211 (63.17% of the 334) protected areas with management plan. On average, the time taken for the creation and approval of a management plan far exceeds the deadlines (5 yrs.) defined under current Brazilian law. All Brazilian biomes are poorly covered by protected areas with effective management plans, with the highest and lowest value observed in the Pantanal (100%) and Caatinga (46.42%), respectively. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of many federal protected areas in Brazil can be reduced considerably by the lack of a management plan, with deleterious consequences for the country’s principal conservation strategies.


Oryx ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Brugière

AbstractThe Republic of Guinea has one of the highest diversities of mammal species in West Africa. However, its protected area network is poorly developed and little quantitative information has been available to help guide national conservation strategies. I therefore examined the distribution of antelopes and related species (families Bovidae and Tragulidae) across 17 sites, including four protected areas, to determine how the existing protected area network contributes to the conservation of antelope species and where action should best be focused for the conservation of this group. A total of 21 species of antelope have been recorded in the 17 sites; four of these species are absent from the four protected areas. An iterative heuristic complementarity approach was used to determine an irreplaceability index, which accounts for both species richness and species rarity, for each of the sites. The Kankan Faunal Reserve and Nimba Strict Nature Reserve have the second and fourth highest irreplaceability indices, respectively. The two other protected areas have moderate to very low irreplaceability indices, showing that they protect species widespread throughout the 17 sites. The Ziama Forest has the highest index (because it contains a high number of species and of globally threatened species), highlighting the significance of this site. I discuss the importance of the other sites and the threats affecting antelopes in Guinea, and make recommendations to improve the study and conservation of antelope species in the country.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Abdul Motaleb ◽  
Mohammad Sultan Ahmed ◽  
Md. Abdullah Al Mahmud ◽  
M. Monirul H. Khan ◽  
Abdullah-Al Mamun ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Seasonal ranging pattern of the Asian Elephants was assessed within two major Protected Areas, namely Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary and Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary situated in the southern Bangladesh, for the period between November 2016 and May 2018. The objective of this study was to see how do the elephants move across the Protected Area landscapes, what was the linkage between the water sources and elephant’s seasonal movement patterns and how does vegetation cover link to elephant movement. Methods The ranging pattern was analyzed using the elephant dung distribution data. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Normalized Difference Water Index were estimated through satellite image analysis. Results Study clearly indicated that the ranging pattern of elephants fully depends on the vegetation and water sources. The areas where water sources and vegetation coverage were good, elephant movement was higher. The study identified few areas of these two Protected Areas where both vegetation coverage and water sources were visible and those areas as hot-spots for elephants. Conclusions The findings of this study can be used in conservation and management of elephants, particularly through the protection of preferred water sources and vegetation covered areas. In future these areas need to be protected and take proper management interventions.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0255082
Author(s):  
Avantika Thapa ◽  
Pujan Kumar Pradhan ◽  
Bheem Dutt Joshi ◽  
Tanoy Mukherjee ◽  
Mukesh Thakur ◽  
...  

The present study aims to explore the mammalian diversity of Darjeeling district using camera traps along with questionnaire survey in protected area (PA) and non- protected area (Non-PA). We also attempted to understand the influence of habitat variables on mammalian species richness using the generalized linear mixed models (GLMM). A total of 30 mammal species were recorded of which 21 species were detected through camera trapping with the most abundant records of barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak) and least of the elusive Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) and red panda (Ailurus fulgens). Additionally, melanistic forms of four mammals were also recorded. The mammalian species richness, their capture rate and naïve occupancy did not differ significantly among the PA and Non-PA. The GLMM revealed that the proportions of oak and bamboo in the forest, percentage canopy cover and camera trap operational days (wAICc = 0.145, wBIC = 0.603) were significant predictors of species richness in the study. We suggest Non-PA forest of Darjeeling should be given equal conservation importance as to the PA. Landscape based conservation planning will be imperative for achieving long term conservation goals in the study area.


Author(s):  
Hadiza Z. Hadejia ◽  
Jibrin Gambo ◽  
Binta Zakari ◽  
Yusuf A. Yusuf ◽  
Ibrahim L. Muhammad

Wetlands are transitional points of habitats that are normally situated between a water body, vegetation cover and dry land. Human activities and climate change influence, the net loss of natural features in global wetlands. However, in the earlier 1990s, people began to understand the benefit of wetlands. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the level of anthropogenic activity in and around Baturiya wetlands and also to provide information on the extent of exploitation on Baturiya wetland. A questionnaire was designed and administered according to the objectives of the study. The result shows that a majority of the anthropogenic activity was conducted by men within the age range of 21-50 years. About 92.5% of the respondents are aware of the effect of the serial disturbances on vegetation resources. The exploitation was mainly for the massive use of energy, income generation, medicinal use and constructional materials. There is a strong need from the management and stakeholders to formulate a deliberate strategy for the provision of an alternative source of energy, health facilities, and a systematic awareness through training to the local communities around the Protected Areas (PAs) on wetland values, sustainable use of wetland resources and conservation strategies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonello Provenzale ◽  
Carl Beierkuhnlein ◽  
Silvia Giamberini ◽  
Simona Imperio ◽  
Carmela Marangi ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;The EU H2020 ECOPOTENTIAL project was devoted to make best use of Earth observations to improve ecosystem benefits and support conservation strategies. The project followed a whole-ecosystem approach, with special attention to geosphere-biosphere interactions. The project, started in 2015 and ended in 2019, focused its activities on a set of more than 20 protected areas of international relevance in Europe and beyond, many of which are also eLTER and ILTER sites, covering a wide array of biogeographic regions and ecosystems (www.ecopotential-project.eu). The site/sites &amp;#8211; specific research activities have been developed within a comprehensive framework (called the project&amp;#8217;s &amp;#8220;Storylines&amp;#8221;) where real-life issues of broad conservation relevance for Protected Areas are linked with research questions. The Storylines specify the needs for remote sensing and in-situ data for ecosystem modelling, ecosystem service assessment, cross-scale interaction estimates, demands for future protections, policy and capacity building. Each storyline has been focused within at least one protected area and has sets the basis for further operational work in the field, adding specifics, defining a work plan and assigning tasks. Storylines have been conceived as iterative processes whose flow of activity and practical implementation evolved with the increase of knowledge and the demands by the users of the scientific findings. After a general introduction to the Storyline approach, here we focus on the case of the Gran Paradiso National Park, considering population dynamics of wild ungulates, biodiversity assessments and Critical Zone exploration. The Storyline concept is now left as a legacy of the ECOPOTENTIAL project to eLTER RI and to the GEO ECO community activities.&lt;/p&gt;


2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. Weladji ◽  
Stein R. Moe ◽  
Pål Vedeld

In recent years, wildlife policies that consider the participation of stakeholders have been promoted. An understanding of the stakeholders' attitudes towards conservation and existing policies are critical in designing new policies or sustainable conservation strategies. This paper examines stakeholders' (local people, park staff and professional hunter guides) attitudes, towards the Bénoué Wildlife Conservation Area (BWCA) and towards Cameroonian wildlife policy. The BWCA encompasses the Bénoué National Park and its surrounding hunting concessions that also include some villages. Both the Park and the hunting concessions are two categories of protected areas. Data were collected using informal interviews and questionnaires administered to 114 households from three communities, 17 park staff and seven professional hunter guides. Local people's attitudes towards protected areas depended on the management category of the particular protected area. Local people were positive towards the existence of the Park, but negative towards the system of hunting concession areas. There was local variation between communities concerning these attitudes. Local people were generally positive to maintaining the present Park area, but preferred a reduction in the size of the hunting concessions. Both Park staff and professional hunter guides expressed concern about present management strategies and the extent of illegal resource exploitation. Despite having poor knowledge of the current Cameroonian wildlife policy, most of the local households expressed support for it, but called for increased local involvement in management, off-take and the harvesting of benefits from both Park and hunting concession activities. The Park staff were sceptical about local participation in this context and saw such endeavours as a threat to a sound biodiversity management scheme. The findings indicate the need to strengthen current wildlife policy, promote the involvement of local people and empower the Park staff, both in terms of resources and in terms of skills in interacting with local people. The revised policy should be designed so as to vary according to the category of protected area and allow site-specific adaptations. Local people must experience reduced incurred costs and increased incomes from the Park. An environmental education programme is recommended to extensively disseminate the policy to user groups in the area.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro R. Giraudo ◽  
Vanesa Arzamendia

Conservation biogeography involves the application of biogeographical principles and methods to conservation issues, including the design of protected areas. Bioregionalisation has been central in the implementation of main global conservation strategies, providing the basis for prioritising protected areas and evaluating their representativeness and effectiveness in conservation actions. Traditionally, experts established these bioregionalisations without repeatable methodologies and using only qualitative evidence, which has set constraints in their usefulness. We compared three descriptive bioregionalisations commonly used for conservation decision-making, with a regionalisation produced using quantitative methods (endemicity analysis), so as to assess biases and differences in the representativeness of the existing protected-area system of Argentina. Areas of endemism were detected using NDM/VNDM quantitative methodology on a database consisting of 19250 distribution records of 116 taxa of snakes, and the results were compared with previous descriptive regionalisations. We recovered 9 quantitative bioregionalisation units (QBU) v. 6–8 descriptive bioregionalisation units (DBU) proposed by previous authors. From this comparison, the following was found: (1) we discovered three new QBU not considered by any previous DBU; (2) other three areas proposed by DBU are not supported by our endemicity analysis; (3) we detected differences comparing the representativeness of protected areas between descriptive v. quantitative bioregionalisations, leaving the first, some areas of conservation relevance largely unprotected. Moreover, DBU were characterised by a high degree of uncertainty and biases, such as the consideration of probably artificial units, the non-recognition of some natural units and mistakes in the representativeness of protected areas. We emphasise the importance of applying quantitative biogeographic methods to identify bioregionalisation units and its fundamental role in conservation biogeography so as to optimise protected-area efficiency and other territorial conservation strategies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
A. H. M. Raihan Sarker ◽  
Amir Hossen ◽  
Ma Suza ◽  
Eivin Roskaft

Conflicts over the conservation of natural resources at the community level occur in different forms and at various levels of severity. These conflicts can be defined as situations in which the allocation, management or use of natural resources results in attacks on human rights or denial of access to natural resources to an extent that considerably diminishes human welfare. However, the conflict between the authorities of the Dhudpukuria-Dhopachari Wildlife Sanctuary (DDWS) and local people over wildlife conservation is one of the most serious conservation issues in Chittagong region of Bangladesh. The DDWS is managed under a co-management programme, but there are many questions that have already been asked about the success of co-management in the study area. A total of 195 standardized, structured and semi-structured questionnaires were administered randomly to villagers. The majority of respondents reported that they did not receive any potential benefit from the DDWS, and almost one-third of respondents reported that they had problems with the DDWS. Almost all respondents reported that they were unable to control the damage caused by wildlife. More than 80% of respondents reported that the co-management approach was not effective in mitigating conflict between people and protected areas. More than 45% of the participants in co-management program reported greater effectiveness of the co-management approach than non-participants. Moreover, the respondents who received more benefits from the Protected Areas (PA) reported more effectiveness of the co-management approach than those who received less or no benefits from the protected area. Integration of local knowledge and preferences into the co-management process will ensure the sustainability of the co-management programme by minimizing the conflict between people and protected areas.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mônica Luisa Kuhlmann ◽  
Hélio Rubens Victorino Imbimbo ◽  
Lucy Lina Ogura ◽  
João Paulo Villani ◽  
Roberto Starzynski ◽  
...  

AIM: This study evaluated the impacts of anthropogenic activities upstream of conservation areas on the Paraibuna river and its implications for freshwater biodiversity. METHODS: The study was carried out in two units, Cunha and Santa Virginia, of the Serra do Mar State Park (SP), located in the Atlantic Rain Forest. Five sampling sites were defined, four along the Paraibuna river and one in the Ipiranga river, the latter fully inserted into the protected area. Physical, chemical, microbiological and ecotoxicological data were obtained from surface water as well as aquatic macroinvertebrates. RESULTS: The results showed that the waters of the Paraibuna river have low anthropogenic interference. However, conductivity, turbidity, coliforms, iron, total phosphorus and nitrate showed a gradient improving its water quality from upstream to downstream, indicating the existence of erosion and introduction of organic debris in the basin. The BMWP index, varying from 58 to 190, also showed the good condition of the river to aquatic biota, with predominant Excellent quality diagnosis. The values of this index and the richness index (S) outlined a similar gradient but with the lowest values recorded in P3. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that the upstream activities alter the natural condition of the Paraibuna river and its biota and that the protected areas provides environmental services reducing these impacts. The ideal situation in order to ensure the conservation of the freshwater biota of the Paraibuna river would be the incorporation of parts of the upstream area into the protected area and convert occupied areas into Sustainable Use Area, that guarantee the adoption of sustainable techniques to the existing land uses and the application of aquatic life protection indicators for monitoring the water quality of the river.


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